Cincinnati Makes Easy Work Of Providence At Big East Tournament

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — Sean Kilpatrick scored 17 points to lead Cincinnati past Providence 61-44 on Wednesday in a Big East tournament game between teams desperate to improve their postseason credentials.

JaQuon Parker added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Bearcats (22-10), who might have solidified an NCAA tournament berth with the win. No. 9 seed Cincinnati advanced to a quarterfinal matchup Thursday with fifth-ranked Georgetown, the tournament’s top seed, at Madison Square Garden.

“Great effort by our guys on the defensive end of the floor,” Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin said. “We outrebound people despite our lack of size, and so credit to the kids in the uniforms. They’ve got great toughness, and they’re really committed to winning.”

Kadeem Batts led the eighth-seeded Friars (17-14) with 14 points and eight rebounds, but Bryce Cotton — the conference’s leading scorer at 19.6 points per game — was held to 12 on 5-for-15 shooting. He missed all seven 3-point attempts, and Providence went 1 for 16 from beyond the arc.

“We know they’re a great team, but like we talked about earlier, we’re a great team as well,” Kilpatrick said. “Especially the way we’re playing defense the way we are. We’re a team that’s hungry. We’re a team that’s not going to back down from anyone, and we’re going to come out and give our best fight every night.”

Wearing special uniforms with neon trim and hideous, camouflage-patterned shorts, Cincinnati hounded the Friars into 28 percent shooting from the field (18 for 64).

Both teams struggled to score for most of the second half, though.

Trying to erase an early 18-point deficit, Providence cut it to 43-37 with 5:09 remaining on a tough layup by Cotton. Kilpatrick answered with a 3-pointer, and then Parker grabbed Kilpatrick’s off-target 3 and converted a three-point play for his first points of the second half.

Two more free throws by Parker extended Cincinnati’s cushion to 51-39 with 3:54 to go, and the Friars never got closer than eight again. Kilpatrick, from nearby Yonkers, sealed it with a three-point play that made it a 14-point game at the 1:41 mark.

In their final chance for an NCAA tournament push, both teams entered this second-round matchup eager to make a splash.

Cincinnati appeared to be in better position, with a 20-win season already secured and an RPI ranking of 49. But the Bearcats faded down the stretch of the regular season, dropping six of their final nine games, while Providence became one of the best teams in the Big East once the calendar turned to February.

“We’re not as big and strong as the Cincinnati teams of the past,” Cronin said. “We’re more faster, quicker, more athletic.”

The surprising Friars, ranked 83rd in the RPI, won seven of their last nine conference games, including a 54-50 victory at home over then-No. 17 Cincinnati on Feb. 6 behind 25 points and nine rebounds from Batts. The teams tied for ninth place in the Big East at 9-9, but Providence came to New York knowing it probably needed a deep run in the conference tournament to have a shot at an at-large bid and its first NCAA tournament trip since 2004.

Instead, the Friars will likely be left hoping for a chance at the NIT.

Early on, it was the deeper Bearcats who took charge as Providence came out cold.

The Friars, picked last in the preseason coaches’ poll after going 4-14 in league play each of the past three years, missed 10 of their first 11 shots and opened 3 for 22 from the field — including 0 of 5 from 3-point range. Meanwhile, the Bearcats started 6 for 8 en route to a 26-8 lead following Parker’s second consecutive 3 with 6:23 left in the first half.

Providence called timeout and regrouped, holding Cincinnati to one field goal the rest of the half as the Friars closed on a 15-5 run to go into the locker room down 31-23.

This was the first meeting between these schools in the Big East tournament. Cincinnati went all the way to the championship game last year before losing to Louisville, then reached the round of 16 in the NCAAs.

Providence’s only win at the Big East tournament since 2003 came in 2009 against DePaul. The Friars were routed by Seton Hall 79-47 last year.

Syracuse-Seton Hall, St. John’s-Villanova and Notre Dame-Rutgers are also on the docket Wednesday at MSG.